By Sandy Welch Thompson
I was driving to work the other day and a radio commercial came on. It was a trailer for some movie coming out. More than what the person was saying, I apparently just snagged on the idea of my life as a feature presentation.
On several occasions, people have suggested I write a book on the life and times of Teenie and Nunu. When I heard the radio, I thought…no, a movie would be better. Then I realized I couldn’t peg these crazy little blondes into one genre’ of movie. Throw in a dash of raising Emily (19 now), and that even makes it harder to pin down. They are all over the board. To stick to a particular type of move would be impossible.
I’d say parenting sort of begins like a scary movie. There is a lot of screaming, yelling and emotions running amuck and that was just during pregnancy. Boy was there some ovary-acting during those episodes. It was horrendous for anyone around me at any given time, I am sure. I own my gender so I can state this with authority given my own experience.
I wasn’t so pleasant in the delivery room either. Emily was my first child and no matter how blessed I was to even be able to have this precious being, I was unaware of anything at that time, except sheer misery and pain. Judge me if you want, but let’s be honest here. Not everyone has a birthing memory equivalent to elevator music and golf announcers. Peaceful and calm were not on the agenda for me.
I absolutely believed what people meant when they said birth is a beautiful thing. Um, no. Babies are a beautiful thing. The ability to have a baby is a beautiful thing. Actually giving birth is one of the scariest events I have gone through, especially when I had no true concept of what really can occur.
I’ve always considered myself pretty tough. Not after that first delivery experience. It’s a good thing you get such a wonderful parting gift, or Lord knows who would choose it! And yeah, I won both Showcases, each and every time! (Reference to Price is Right if you are not a fan)
That was just a moment or 3 in time though. As soon as that baby is born, life changes and so does the scene. It quickly turns into a totally different movie. You would think that’s the highpoint of the show, but it’s just the beginning. From the time you see that angel, it’s a true love story. Not much more you can say about it.
Now the selfish part of me also feels that moment should come with an accompanying triumphant score. Some of the best music scores usually come with those heroic endings in a movie. This was victory through physical work after all. An Olympic performance if you will. Am I wrong to think it would be overboard to pipe in the theme to Chariots of Fire to a delivery room? Maybe a little bit of Queen’s – We are the Champions? Just a small suggestion to perhaps recognize the efforts involved. Most folks love a good story about legendary events, right? And the trophy is so cool!
Now that we’ve covered the first acts, let’s move on. If you have daughters like I do, even when they are just wee people starting to walk, you realize you are in a whole new type of motion picture. Did you catch that play on words Walk…motion. Yeah, I just giggled to myself. If this was FB, I would totally have “liked” my own status.
Anyway, from that point until my current reality-based show, I’ve been engulfed in the best high-drama, live-action film ever.
Don’t believe me? If you aren’t an avid reader of the Mannford Reporter, go visit some of the other impromptu scenes in the Sandy Path. Your questions will be swiftly removed.
Examples? Sure. I used to refer to my kids’ bedtime attire as peejamas. Potty training was so much fun! When we moved from pee-jamas, we graduated to padramas, because wild little country girls do not like being told when to go to bed. Oh, the intensity of these actresses! One has only seen comparable thespians in Academy Award winners. Those folks got nuttin’ on my kids on any given day.
You can almost feel increased blood pressure of the entire house when they are fighting over soccer uniform socks. Even better, when they are doing Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets to rehearse their spelling test words with dad. The loser gets me. I’m okay with this. Dad makes it fun. Mom does not. High drama nonetheless.
And man, a U12 soccer game is filled with action! What a show. Happens most every Saturday.
Every single day is sprinkled with some type of humor. I am all about a good comedy. They wouldn’t be my kids if they didn’t come up with some awesome one-liners. Even if they are subtle and unintended.
We were on the way to school one time and I told Teenie to brush her hair. She said, “Why, is it picture day?”
Same child, different day – headed to the dentist. I say the dentist is gonna get you guys in trouble for not flossing. Teenie says (with THE MOST concerned expression on her face), “Like spankin’ kind of trouble or what exactly?”
At any given moment, we break out into musicals.
These are quite the spectacle. A lot of interpretive dance moves incorporated into these pieces. Who needs Broadway when you have an ottoman for a stage and a ready-made audience on the couch. Oftentimes, the dog’s squeaky toys serve as a make-shift microphone, not that my children lack voice projection, but props are always good to have around.
My kids are innately so animated. I have my own little Road Runner and Coyote. They switch roles about every other day. More colorful than a full day of cartoons!
And I get completely enthralled when they belly laugh while trying to tell a story. It’s the coolest thing ever to see their pupils huge with excitement and they can’t talk without their hands so it’s just all over the place. Now that’s entertainment!
Mimes…they are not. Couldn’t even attempt this. Silent films are impossible with this crew.
I guess the truth is, no matter what type of movie I ever thought I liked, by the time my curtain closes, I will know I have been part of the greatest show in history. It is and always will be my favorite of all time. Truly epic in every way.
I don’t know how the rest of this life will play out, but I’ll bet it has a happy ending. A crazy, wild, fun, exciting, dramatic unscripted adventure that I wouldn’t trade for a movie ticket anywhere. And there is always popcorn (usually between the car seats or under the couch), but what’s a good show without that!